*Traditionally men could kiss any passing woman on the street during this day, guests are welcomed and treated to various delicacies including pancakes, single guys would be on the lookout for a wife; the purpose being to make the matchmaking process easier and form couples to get married on Krasnaya Gorka (Red Hill), the Sunday after Easter, a traditional the time for couples to get married).
Shrove Tuesday (aka Fat Tuesday) is the name more commonly used among Anglicans (Episcopalians) for today, historically the day a thrifty housewife uses up the fats kept around the house (can of bacon drippings, whatever) for cooking, but not using during Lent. Since pancakes are a standard way of using up fat, the day is also called Pancake Tuesday. In many parts of Great Britain, the day is celebrated with pancake races-- contestants run a course while holding a griddle and flipping a pancake.
Among Lutherans, Ash Wednesday and Lent are are an important part of the church calendar leading to Easter. There are no enforced or imposed dietary restrictions or penitential requirements. And many congregations will host a pancake supper this evening, as a way to share a common Christian tradition and look forward to the season of Lent beginning tomorrow. Martin Luther wrote in his Small Catechism that “fasting and other outward preparations may serve a good purpose” in preparing ourselves to receive the Lord’s Supper. But the best preparation, he said, is believing Jesus’ words. Fasting (which some Lutherans do prior to the Lord’s Supper, or any time) can be a beneficial practice, but there is no substitute for faith. The practice of "giving up" something for Lent is neither encouraged or frowned upon, but is more a Roman Catholic practice which many Christians follow.
As, perhaps, an addendum to yesterday's post-- the part about dealing with the world-- I offer up the following devotional to ponder before Ash Wednesday and the penitential season of Lent. While the author shares only some of the doctrine Lutherans believe and teach (he claims to reside in the "Anglican-Lutheran-Roman Catholic corner of Christianity"), this devotional is quite good and fits the moment:
God had delivered the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt. The Book of Exodus, having attempted a natural explanation for the parting of the waters, regarded freedom as the miracle. And freedom was the miracle. Yet the slave mentality persisted, so the next generation (not raised as slaves) entered the Promised Land.
God had revealed Baal to be imaginary. The only real deity, quite different from false gods, spoke in silence, not noise.
God–I AM–had done so much publicly. Why was it not enough for many people? We human beings seem to have a reluctance to change our minds about the major issues much of the time. This is partially an evolutionary adaption–a survival technique in the wilderness. If, for example, gatherers thought that a certain variety of mushroom was poisonous due to passed-down folklore, they were slow to reverse that assumption–probably for a good cause. Yet this evolutionary adaptation, combined with the frailties of ego, leads to
[don’t confuse me with the facts]
religion, theology, and politics.
I am cautious to avoid being excessively certain about divine attributes out of a desire to avoid heresy as God defines it. Yet I make the following statement confidently: God, in the Bible, has a track record of doing unexpected (from a human perspective) things. Thus we move in Scripture from the mysterious encounters of Moses with God to the Incarnation of the Second Person of the Trinity as Jesus of Nazareth, whereby many people saw the face of God. And I wonder what God is doing that I see without recognition because I do not expect it or I do not want facts to upset my conclusions. It is a question worth applying to self, is it not, O reader?
Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday. Why? Why not! Stay tuned...
С Богом!
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